End of Month Sky

 The month of January came to an end with this gorgeous display of beauty in the sky.

 

 

Photos by Audrey

Week 3 BOD Journal Spread

Finished Week 3 Book Of Days journal spread.  Not wild about this one, but had fun working on it.

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, Jonathan !!!

Sending wishes that this will be your BEST BIRTHDAY yet!

Have a fun day with all the Birthday Trimmings.

♥

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Constanza !!!

Being in your new home to celebrate your Birthday is the beginning of much happiness.  You will fill it with beauty, love, and joy.  You've only just begun and it is already warm and beautiful.  I look forward to seeing photos of each room as you continue.

Today ~ as we celebrate YOU ~  may all your dreams come true.

♥

Grow Your Blog

Hello! Welcome to the 2nd Annual GROW YOUR BLOG PARTY hosted by Vicki of 2 Bags Full.

My name is Audrey.  I started this blog in December of 2008.  I've met some amazing people through blogging and I have made some very good friends.

My main interests are art and photography.  However, I blog about many other things, too ~ gardening, nature, trees, the moon, life, family, my mini doxie "Jake", and whatever else catches my eye on any particular day.  I love life, people, and ART!  I would have to call myself a Mixed Media artist as I like to venture into many aspects of art.

I invite you to become a follower and make return visits often.  Please scroll through some of my older posts to give you an idea of what my blog is about.

To find a complete list of bloggers participating in this GROW YOUR BLOG PARTY, click here to go to Vicki's Blog, 2 Bags Full.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope to see you again soon.  Feel free to leave a comment ~ I would love to hear from you.  I will respond ~ it just might take a while depending on how many visitors leave a comment.  In celebration of this party, I will be having a Giveaway on February 15th by randomly pulling a name from all comments listed on this post.   

Enjoy the party!!!

Audrey

Jake

Our great big beautiful moon.

Photo by Audrey, January 2014

Week 2 BOD Journal Spread

I ran a little late, but just finished my spread for Week 2 Book Of Days.  I didn't do any written journaling on these pages, but I did convey my feelings for the week. I truly am lost in the joy of creativity.  It feels so good to be doing this.  Now, off to begin my spread for Week 3.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Linda !!

A bouquet of flowers for a special lady who always takes the time to care and say kind words about each member of our family.  May this birthday bring you joy like never before, and may the year ahead fill your heart with many good memories.

A Really Fun Birthday

 On Friday afternoon, a large package arrived on my front porch ~  it was A BIRTHDAY IN A BOX sent by my dear friend, Susie, who lives in Ohio.  I had so much fun opening the many things in the box.  First off, there was a BOA and a party hat to wear for the birthday celebration.  

As you can see, there was a LOT in the package.  It was obvious that Susie spent much time in her selection and she wrote poems that were taped to many of the things.  The cheese had this poem taped to it:

Sweet Cream Gold

Hale and Hearty.

Got no CHEESE?

Ain't no party!

This one is a private joke ~ sorry, can't share.  But, it was accompanied by WINE.  

 Canvas to paint on.

Cupcakes that spelled out my name and candles to light up the night.  

 Cheese from Amish country.  The best!!!

She even sent pink depression glass ~ a large serving plate for the cake, and two dessert plates. WOW!

Buy authentic,

Never Fake,

Dish on which you'll serve your CAKE!

There were many other little gifts and food items in the package.  Even a box of treats for Jake.  More poems and gifts, too.  It was a birthday gift I will never forget from a warm and generous friend.  Thank you, Susie.  ♥  

****************

On Sunday, my Birthday, my sister, brother-in-law, Terry, and I had a little celebration.  This is the cake my sister brought from Ohio.  It was GOOD!!!!!

And now I'm another year older and wiser.

Other good friends ~ Sue and Holly ~ sent wonderful packages from Ohio as well, and my sister and brother-in-law were very generous in their gift giving and party planning.

Mr. Magic's gift was a Christmas/Birthday combination ~ a gorgeous diamond ring.  It is being sized, so no photo right now.

All in all, it was a good, fun birthday ~ one more year to celebrate the life my Mother gave to me.  She was the only missing piece of the party this year, but I know she was watching and sending angel kisses down to me. 

I thank each of my facebook friends for the wishes they posted.  Wishes that were appreciated SO much.

♥

What is Dying?

Thinking of Mom and others we lost in 2013.  Yesterday, my sister came from Ohio to visit for a while.  She gave me this poem. I think it's perfect.

What is Dying?

The ship sails and I stand watching
till she fades on the horizon,
and someone at my side says,
"She is gone."
Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all;
she is just as large as when I saw her.
The diminished size and total loss of sight
is in me, not in her,
and just in that moment,
when someone at my side says,
"She is gone,"
there are others who are watching her coming,
and other voices take up a glad shout,
"There she comes!"
And that is dying.
~Anonymous

It brings me happiness to think that those who passed before Mom were there waiting for her and when she took her last breath, they all shouted in unison, "There she comes!"  It had to be a large crowd ~ she was loved by many.
Perhaps some of you out there who have lost a loved one this past year, will feel a smidgen better after reading this poem.  Those of us left behind miss our loved ones SO much.  I never really stopped to think about the happiness those waiting on the other side feel when they see a loved one coming back to them.

Full Micro Moon

Photo by Audrey, January 15, 2014

Full Micro Moon

Today, January 15, the moon reaches apogee, the farthest point it reaches in its orbit around Earth, some 252,607 miles away.  This apogee will make it appear to be the smallest full moon of 2014 ~ about 4% smaller than average.  The last time we had such a small moon was in November of 2012.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Book of Days

Effy posted our Week 2 Book of Days theme on Monday and I haven't started yet.  I will dive into that today.  The challenge for this week is to create a face on a substrate and then work it into my spread, making it look like it's supposed to be there.  The technique is to find a poetic way to express how last week was for me.  This should be interesting ~ definitely challenging.  I will post the spread when it's completed.

Week 1 BOD Journal Spread

I finished my journal spread for week 1 Book Of Days.  I chose TIME as my word for the year, so that is what I journaled about.  I am realizing more and more the importance of finding some alone time to spend doing what calms your mind and your soul.

Effy will be posting the week 2 video sometime today.  It looks like it's going to take me each full week to get my spreads done.  I'm off to get things ready for Vendor Night at the consignment shop.  Never a dull moment around here.

Happy Monday!!

Dust If You Must

I love this poem.  For one thing, I hate to dust.  It just floats around in the air and comes back down once you leave the room. As soon as you move it around, you breath it and then you have dust on your furniture, in the air, and in your lungs.  It really is better to leave it alone and go have some fun!

I've pretty much felt this way for years, so I was very happy to see it in print.  Thank you, Jane, for posting this on facebook.  I think I'm going to hang it in the kitchen and read it everyday so I don't feel guilty when I don't dust.

Now, I think I'll go paint a picture!

  

Nightmare Extraction

  Extraction complete ~ the tooth is gone.  I have a crooked smile, a puffy face, and stitches in my gums.  I am sore and tired, on penicillin and vicodin, but all is well.

The actual event began at 11:00 this morning.  Thinking all would be over and done with by noon, I walked out of the Oral Surgeon's office at 4:00 this afternoon.  The events of the day would be almost too hard to believe, so I won't bore you with them.  I will just say that after two trips to the Oral Surgeon, a trip to the DDS, an attempt by the DDS to extract the tooth and the successful surgical removal of the roots by the Oral Surgeon... the tooth lost the battle and is OUT!  I'm pretty sure that every piece of equipment available to those in the dental business was in my mouth at some point today.  It was a day that bad dreams are made of.  I am SO happy it's over.

Mixed Bag

I'm a mixed bag of feelings tonight.  Right now I'm taking a break from working in my journal.  Feeling very happy while painting in it.  Meanwhile, sweet little Jake either stands outside my studio door (photo above) or comes in and stands right next to my chair, waiting SO patiently for me to throw his little blue ball.  This is making me feel sad because I'm not playing with him.  Then, there's the dark cloud of "tooth extraction" hanging over my head.  Yep, tomorrow morning ~ I have a date with the Oral Surgeon.  This is making me feel anxious.

So, I think I'll go back to the journal and block everything else out for another little while.  I will play with Jake before I go to bed and that dreaded appointment will be over before I know it.  Right?

Book of Days 2014, Winter Session

This evening, I finished my journal cover for Book of Days 2014 Winter Session.  I am very excited to start working in it.  Effy Wild, who teaches Book of Days, posted our first video yesterday for this session.  I hope to watch it and do my first spread in the journal in the next couple of days.  I have been involved with Book of Days since 2012 but I've not finished a complete journal yet.  This is going to be THE year.  Not one page of this journal will be empty at year's end.  I will post my spreads as I complete them.  Excited! 

It's a New Year!  

365 days to eat, sleep, and PLAY!!

It's 10:15!  I think it's time for him to get up and start celebrating the New Year!!!